MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Just weeks away from the start of the new school year, Porter-Leath has announced it’s taking the reins of Shelby County’s Head Start services.

That means the Memphis Shelby County Schools will no longer hold the $30 million federal contract.

MSCS said the following in a release on Early Education:

“MSCS is working closely with Porter-Leath, the Office of Head Start, and local early childhood providers to ensure a smooth and coordinated transition. Our top priority is minimizing disruption to services and maintaining stability for the children, families, and educators we serve.

Despite this change, MSCS remains firmly committed to early childhood education and will continue to serve Pre-K students through other state and local funding sources.”

MSCS said that as a result of this transition:

• They will no longer serve as the Head Start grantee, impacting both direct service delivery by MSCS and services previously coordinated through community partners.
• Human Resources is currently evaluating implications for staff.
• The transition will affect more than 23 contracted childcare providers, including many small, minority-owned businesses. MSCS remains committed to open communication and support during this change.
• With the loss of braided Head Start funding, they will now operate Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten (VPK) classrooms under an unblended model. Financial and operational structures are being reassessed accordingly.

WREG investigators have told you that deficiency notices were sent to MSCS, which put the services up for bidding.

The federally funded program is designed to help prepare low-income children from birth to age five to succeed in school.

Porter-Leath says it’s “moving quickly and thoughtfully to implement the transition” and went on to state it’s already working, “to ensure a smooth and timely start for as many children and families as possible.”

A spokesperson added they will now serve an additional 2,920 children in Shelby County, and the grant was awarded based on an application for current Head Start services in Shelby County.

Last month, WREG investigators reported district officials addressed supervision and safety protocols after the federal Administration for Children and Families sent a report to MSCS.

It cited yet another concern: a four-year-old in the Head Start program reportedly walked out of an elementary school and was gone for 44 minutes.

“Two community members found the child running along a street and took the child to their home, where they then uploaded a social media post to locate the child’s parents,” the report stated.

The deficiency was on top of several more health and safety deficiencies found in two different monitoring reports last year.

At a committee meeting on July 8, MSCS officials informed board members they had not yet heard from the Office of Head Start yet.

“So what Dr. Richmond has instructed myself, and I’ve been working closely with Dr. Gordon, is coming up with contingency plans around what it looks like if we get the funding back or some portion of the funding back,” said a MSCS official.

It is unclear when the grant was awarded.

What we do know is that Porter-Leath has operated Head Start services in the county before and stressed they will expand their partnership with First 8 Memphis, as well as dozens of local partners. They added they’re “ready to work tirelessly to turn this investment into positive outcomes.”

As WREG learns more about where the physical locations will be and more about staffing, we will let you know.

Porter-Leath’s first student enrollment event will be this Wednesday, July 23rd, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at Memphis STEM Academy at 2180 Frayser Blvd, Memphis, TN 38127. Additional community enrollment events will be listed at porterleath.org/headstart. To be eligible, families must reside in Shelby County, and the child must be three or four years old by August 15, 2025.

Families interested in enrolling their children in Head Start should contact Porter-Leath at 901-577-2500 or visit Click here to visit their website.

Porter-Leath is actively recruiting qualified candidates to join their team of professionals. Opportunities for teachers, teacher assistants, family liaisons, and other roles are available.

These positions, as well as information about upcoming job fairs, are posted at porterleath.org/careers.